Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Britons Spend 800 Years Waiting to Speak to HMRC

by May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
Britons Spend 800 Years Waiting to Speak to HMRC

Taxpayers spent a staggering total of nearly 800 years on hold to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) last year, amid what the government’s spending watchdog describes as a “declining spiral” of customer service.

The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that HMRC failed to answer up to 45% of calls to its tax helpline, with the average wait time for those who did get through rising to 23 minutes, up from five minutes in 2019.

The NAO’s damning report highlighted that this increased wait time equated to a total of 798 years spent waiting on the phone, a significant rise from 365 years just three years prior. The report accuses HMRC of deliberately limiting telephone service availability to manage its workload and criticized the agency’s strategy of cutting costs by promoting digital services, which do not provide an equivalent level of support.

Testing of HMRC’s new digital assistant tool revealed that it could resolve only about half of the sampled queries. Additionally, the NAO criticized the reduction of HMRC’s frontline customer service workforce by more than 9% over the past four years without properly assessing whether digital services met customer needs.

Public dissatisfaction with HMRC’s service is growing, as evidenced by the 91,000 complaints lodged last year, marking a nearly 40% increase from 2020. In response to these challenges, HMRC shut down four helplines for three months to redeploy staff and save money. Plans to make these cuts permanent were vetoed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

A Treasury source emphasized that staff cuts should not compromise public access to essential services, particularly for vulnerable individuals needing support with tax matters. In response to the NAO report, the Treasury announced an additional £51 million in funding for HMRC to help answer more calls.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, pointed out that HMRC’s telephone and correspondence services have been below target service levels for an extended period. “While many of its digital services work well, they have not made enough of a difference to customers, some of whom have been caught in a declining spiral of service pressures and cuts,” he said. “HMRC must allow more time for these services to bed in and understand the difference they make before adjusting staffing levels.”

The report also questioned staff productivity, noting an increase in sickness levels to an average of 11 days per year. Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the public accounts committee, urged HMRC to listen to taxpayer frustration and develop realistic plans to improve customer service and deliver value for money.

An HMRC spokesman responded: “While customer service standards on our phone lines are still not where we want them to be, we’re making strong progress in our efforts to improve our customer service, and additional funding has been confirmed by the government this week.”

Seb Maley, CEO of IR35 tax and compliance firm, Qdos, commented: “This report makes for damning reading, and it exposes just how bad things have gotten over the last five years. Despite astronomical investment in its customer service offering, HMRC has fallen well short. All taxpayers – whether self-employed or employed – are getting a raw deal.

“The NAO is right to call out HMRC’s customer service levels, which have nosedived in recent years. The concern is that while the help and support HMRC offers taxpayers worsens, the tax office’s approach to policing non-compliance becomes more aggressive. It doesn’t stack up.”

Read more:
Britons Spend 800 Years Waiting to Speak to HMRC

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Nigel Farage: I can’t think of any government which has done more to stop British food production
next post
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to Boost UK Economy by Nearly £1 Billion

You may also like

Short-term financing for modern businesses

April 25, 2025

Wholesale gas prices fall as Europe’s plan to...

September 1, 2022

Ways to Fund Your Side Hustle Without Relying...

April 30, 2025

Why You Should Use Market Research Services to...

May 24, 2023

Childcare crisis hurting economy, say small firms ahead...

March 3, 2023

Reeves faces fiscal rule warning as OECD slashes...

June 3, 2025

F1 star Sebastian Vettel becomes the lead investor...

March 20, 2023

Next looks set to pick up troubled vintage...

March 28, 2023

Moneysupermarket sales lifted as Brits go deal hunting...

April 18, 2023

Energy companies launch legal action over windfall taxes

December 29, 2022

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Republican senator claims RFK Jr. mRNA vaccine decision undermines Trump agenda

      August 7, 2025
    • Who is Anita Dunn? The Biden confidante who clashed with Hunter grilled in House autopen probe

      August 7, 2025
    • Case v. Montana Brief: Limit Loopholes to the Fourth Amendment

      August 7, 2025
    • Trump opens $9tn US retirement market to crypto in landmark executive order

      August 7, 2025
    • What Should We Learn from China’s Nuclear Construction Costs?

      August 7, 2025
    • Closing the Primary Care Gap

      August 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,704)
    • Investing (2,182)
    • Politics (16,333)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved